Cuts? There is a better way!

Saturday 23 October, more than 20.000 demonstrators marched on the streets of Edinburgh to show their disapproval towards the cuts announced last week in the government’s spending review.

After Chancellor George Osburne announced, on 20 October 2010, the most wide ranging cuts in the public spending for decades, Union Group STUC arranged a protest against the government’s latest decisions.

Grahame Smith, leader of Union Group STUC.

Before the demonstration started, STUC general secretary Grahame Smith released a press declaration and spoke during an interview for the BBC affirming “ We launched this campaign to dispel the myth that there is no economic alternative to these cuts.” He then added, “there is an alternative. Get people back to work, get the economy growing again, and the public finances will largely take care of themselves.” His inspiring speech continued with him saying “we also launched this campaign to expose the lie that it is those with the broadest shoulders that will bear the brunt of the cuts.”

The Scottish Trades Union Congress has organized a series of other demonstrations that will take place in several Scottish cities during the next months. The campaign “There Is A Better Way” has events programmed at Airdrie Worksmens Social Club on 26 October, in Coatbridge on 28 October , in Blantyre on 6 November, and in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, on 10 November.